This is so reassuring...

[phorvick]

So, as many know, my background is (a) retired attorney; that (b) now teaches in a small rural school in NW Minnesota.

We had a meeting today with the local police on "lock down" procedures if an intruder were in the building. They assured the staff that they should be able to respond in about 10 minutes once they are called.

So, I asked. What happens during those ten minutes? Ans: You are on your own.

Well, that sure reassures me.

[hammAR]

By the time hostile activities have commenced, which triggers the 911 call, you have already been on your own for several minutes.....
so what's 10 more minutes......................

Remember, this too shall pass.................just CYA..........

.

[rtk]

I wonder how many show up at that time, 1 maybe 2 if it's your lucky day! I am certain that they are spred mighty thin in the outstate areas.

RTK

[Aceq2jot]

I am sure there will be one or two officers within a couple of minutes of the school, but the majority of the force would not be there for that time period. And then when the first two arrive do they take the bull by the horns and charge in to a scene where it is just them and try and go one way when some one could take them out from the other direction in the back.

It is like the school where i am working there are so many places for someone to shoot from if only a two man team went in. And i have a trauma plate that claims to stop high powered rifles but thats only in the front not the back. So i am sure they want to risk an officers life, for the sake of a couple of minutes.

And i am not sure about your school, but i have looked at the doors in the one i work and the glass has wire mess in it so it is really hard to break out, and you could not kick the door in as they are steel framed so the jamb will not give. So following a lock down the intruder would basically be confined to the hallways of the school. And we all know that in hollywood you can shoot out a lock which in theory is the same as drilling out a lock and the door will just open. But in real life it is not that easy.

[Seismic Sam]

Ever hear of breaching charges, Aceq?? They're 12 gauge rounds specifically designed to take out door locks and HINGES, and you can buy them in at least three Rambo wanna-be mail order catalogs that they send out to anybody whose address they can get ahold of. Anybody that wants to take out a school to begin with will think at least that far in advance, and that's including kids that go there and want to "pull a Columbine".

Your saving grace, phorvick, is that you are located quite a few miles beyond where God left his overshoes when he made the world, and the boredom and monotony of getting to that part of the state would kill anybody who didn't have the patience to be a Minnezotan and listen to the two whole hours of a Pairie Home Companion to begin with.

BTW phorvick: You didn't by any chance follow that question up with a request to be able to carry in the school, did you?? It's legal in Minnesota to do that with the Superintendent's written permission, and I can't think of a better set-up to ask for that than the one you just described.

[phorvick]

BTW phorvick: You didn't by any chance follow that question up with a request to be able to carry in the school, did you?? It's legal in Minnesota to do that with the Superintendent's written permission, and I can't think of a better set-up to ask for that than the one you just described.

I believe it is the Principal or person in day to day control.

In my school my guess is that the Principal would give permission. The glitch is that there is a new Supt. and he may not agree. It is not yet politically opportune to force that issue. There is a tad more to it at my school, but not for a public discussion forum.

[JonL]

...
Your saving grace, phorvick, is that you are located quite a few miles beyond where God left his overshoes when he made the world, and the boredom and monotony of getting to that part of the state would kill anybody who didn't have the patience to be a Minnezotan and listen to the two whole hours of a Pairie Home Companion to begin with.
...

phorvick, Does that make you feel any better?

[Srigs]

I can't believe we have not taught a new paradigm called "Get the hell out of the school as fast as you can". IMHO in an active shooter this is the only correct response is go out windows other door or what ever it will take.

[DeanC]

I'm with you there Srigs. Every step the kids take away from the school, the less likely they'll be hit by a bullet.

[Thor]

I'm not so sure I believe in this lock-down crap. To me, that seems like it's making it easier for the perpetrator to shoot whomever they want at their leisure. Look at the VT shootings. Some kids jumped out the second story windows and escaped death. Others were herded into rooms, trying to keep Cho out and some were successful, some weren't.

As far as rural areas being a little safer, I have to wonder. Red Lake was "rural". A few of the other schools shootings were "rural". IMO, the more rural a school is, the longer it will take the local law enforcement agencies to get there. All the more reason to repeal the school gun free zone ******** and allow good people to carry.

[Ironbear]

I'm with you there Srigs. Every step the kids take away from the school, the less likely they'll be hit by a bullet.

Aaaahhhhhh. Wasn't the original MO of Klebold and Harris, at Columbine, to set off bombs in the school and ambush people on the way out? Out the door and into an ambush may not be the best answer. I doubt that you could say with any certainty that one response would be better than another in any given situation.

[princewally]

Sitting around waiting for the shooter CAN'T be a good plan.

[Ironbear]

Sitting around waiting for the shooter CAN'T be a good plan.

I think that's too general a statement to make with any certainty. It depends on the circumstances. If a classroom is reasonably hardened, with a lockable door, staying put may be better than breaking cover. If the classroom has the security potential of a wet paper sack, running might be the best option.

[Thor]

lockable doors can work to the disadvantage of the teachers, students, and any other "official", too.